To Love Again
by livin la vida loca
Summary: The death of a loved one is difficult to accept. Falling in love again is even harder.


Disclaimer: I only own my Inuyasha VCDs. And they're in Chinese. And Japanese. So, yeah. I don't own these characters. Just my imagination.

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru never had much of a father. Inutaisho had missed their births, (managing to be on business trips during both occasions) as well as a variety of other important landmark moments, such as when Sesshomaru killed his first demon, when Inuyasha cut his first tooth, and when the younger became a full youkai for the first time.

Not that they could blame him, of course. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru found difficulty getting along. When Inuyasha was three, his brother had held him over a bridge, determined to "erase the filthy half-blood that stained the family name". The hanyou child had been rescued by Sesshomaru's mother, Hakaru, who knew Inutaisho's wrath all too well, and did not wish for it to be incurred upon her son. Inuyasha had sliced off his brother's arm when he came in to possession of the Tetsusaiga, and Sesshomaru had punched a hole in Inuyasha's stomach in revenge. But the arm had re-grown, and Inuyasha was alive and well, so neither could quite understand the lack of a male guardian in the family.

Several years passed this way, Inutaisho often on business trips that took him to the far corners of Japan or, in some cases, to the mainland. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru grew older, maturing into a strong hanyou and youkai. While they still did not get along, they took their lessons together, fought against each other in the swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat classes, and, all-in-all, tolerated each other's company.

When Inuyasha turned sixty, Sesshomaru being eighty-five, the younger brother brought home a girl. She was human, and young. Only sixteen. Sesshomaru thought that his brother was, as they say, "robbing the cradle," but the full youkai had long since sworn to stay out of his idiot half-brother's affairs. He didn't care what Inuyasha did, as long as it did not disturb him.

"I swear, Sess, I'm not sleeping with her," Inuyasha exclaimed. "She's not just some…whore that I found on the street. She's…I don't know…she's like the real thing."

"Whatever," Sesshomaru dismissed him. "Just make sure you two don't interfere with my business."

Inuyasha continued to see the girl. Inutaisho knew nothing about the relationship. His human concubine, Inuyasha's mother, supported the union. She hated to watch demons continuously antagonizing their human counterparts. Hakaru was disgusted. She hated humans with a fierce loathing, and had tried to teach Sesshomaru to do the same. Sesshomaru simply felt indifference (bordering disgust, however) toward the "other species".

After six years, Sesshomaru's mother was killed. Inutaisho was away, and during his absence there was an attack on the castle. Hakaru had attempted to defend the castle in her mate's stead, but she had not survived. Inutaisho raced back when he learned of the danger, only to find the castle in ruins. Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had escaped, after Inuyasha insisted that staying in the castle would only get them killed. Sesshomaru was reluctant to leave, but he understood that the West would not benefit from the death of two heirs to the throne.

Inuyasha had taken Sesshomaru to the human girl's house, where he planned to stay low until Inutaisho returned to the West. The youkai would have protested, but Sesshomaru had been injured during the attack, when he tried to save his mother. He had no choice.

The human, he learned, was named Kagome. She was beautiful for a human, in Sesshomaru's eyes, but she was nonetheless human. Her eyes were a glittering hazel, and easily showed her emotions. Her hair was black silk, and her skin had a healthy glow.

"Of course you can stay here," Kagome agreed after hearing their situation. "I'm just not sure if your brother would be comfortable here." Inuyasha had described Sesshomaru to her, and, although they had never met, Kagome thought her lover's older sibling did not sound very agreeable.

"He'll be on his best behavior," Inuyasha promised with a grin.

Kagome had tended to the injured Sesshomaru, bandaging his slightly-less-than-serious wound. She was a wonderful hostess, hospitable, gentle. She made sure the brothers had everything they needed.

The human lived with her grandfather, mother, and younger brother. Kagome's grandfather had, at first, refused to allow two demons into his house. But his granddaughter had eventually won him over, and the brothers were allowed temporary housing at the Higurashi shrine. Kagome's mother never knew of the unusual guests. She had been ill for a long period of time, often sleeping. When she was awake, she couldn't recognize anyone, much to the dismay of her family. Souta, Kagome's brother, was fascinated with the two demons. He adored Inuyasha, who treated him like a second brother, but was uncomfortable around Sesshomaru. Indeed, the taiyoukai was not very talkative in the Higurashi shrine. In fact, he was not talkative at all, and emitted a cold, condescending air toward the humans.

Some days passed in this manner. Inutaisho, at the castle, was attempting to use his remaining troops to stave off the attack. However, the majority of his army had been at the castle while he was gone, and, due to their want of a good leader duringthe first attack, had failed miserably trying to defend the kingdom. Inutaisho did not have many troops to command, now that most of his army was dead or captured.

Everyday, Kagome went to the town to gather what news she could about the attack on the castle. She would return to her shrine on the edge of the town, and report to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru.

When the injured youkai's wounds healed, he wanted to return to aid his father in battle. Inuyasha had refused, not willing to allow his brother's death.

"Sess, you _can't_ leave. You know the situation at the castle is very bad. You'll be killed!" Inuyasha argued.

"Agreed. The 'situation' _is_ very bad. That is exactly why I must return: to help Father," Sesshomaru retorted.

"You won't be helping him if you get killed!"

Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha.

"We must leave, little brother. Father cannot handle this enemy on his own."

"He's got a whole army behind him," Inuyasha exasperated. "If he can't defeat them with an army of youkai, what are two children going to do?"

"I am _not_ a child!" Sesshomaru said stonily. "And I refuse to be treated like one. You _will_ not and _can _not prevent me from returning to the castle."

"He can't, but I can," Kagome cut in.

"Stay out of this, human," Sesshomaru spat. "While I appreciate your hospitality, this is a _war_. There is no place for a human female."

"And war is no place for a youkai child," Kagome shot back. "You're eighty-five, Sesshomaru. You still fall one hundred and fifteen years short of becoming a mature youkai."

"I have no time to argue with you. I _will_ leave soon."

"You can try," Kagome glared. "Your wounds are only just beginning to heal. I refuse to allow Inuyasha's brother to be killed on account of stupidity. And I most certainly to do not want this kingdom to fall into the hands of Naraku."

Sesshomaru looked slightly confused for a moment.

"Naraku?" he asked.

"Naraku is the demon who has organized the attack on the West. He was a hermit, living in the mountains. No one is quite sure what type of youkai he is. However, he has been gathering this army and planning this attack for a long time. His army is comprised of full demons, and he has further enhanced some of them with tiny shards of the Shikon Jewel."

"This demon - " Sesshomaru began.

"_Half_ – demon," Kagome corrected. "Naraku is a hanyou."

Sesshomaru stared at her.

"Do you honestly believe, Higurashi, that my father's kingdom would fall at the hands of a hanyou?"

"With Shikon shards aiding him?" Kagome replied. "Of course."

"What is the Shikon Jewel?" Sesshomaru demanded impatiently, angered that his knowledge had failed him. "I have never heard of it."

Kagome produced a small, broken jewel, which had been hidden on a thin chain beneath her shirt. The jewel was broken in half, and emitted a soft, pinkish glow.

"This is the Shikon Jewel. Or half of it, anyway," Kagome sighed. "It's a powerful tool. In the hands of the wrong person, it could be very dangerous."

"Kagome's a miko," Inuyasha offered. "She's the guardian of the Shikon Jewel. At least, she would be. The last miko, I believe her name was Kikyou, made a stupid mistake. The Jewel had caused her great sadness in some way or another, and she attempted to get rid of it. The only way to make the Jewel disappear is if someone pure of heart makes a wish on it. However, Kikyou, unaware of this, attempted to smash the Jewel. It shattered into many shards, which eventually scattered all over Japan. Kagome's got the tough job to find these shards, purify them, and put the Jewel back together."

Sesshomaru glanced at the girl.

"You're a miko?" he demanded. That was bad news for him. He wouldn't be able to get past a miko.

Kagome nodded.

"However, I am not respected in this town," she murmured.

"A miko should be shown proper respect," Sesshomaru reminded her. "Why do the townspeople disrespect you?"

"Because I do not know who _my_ father is, and because Souta is…well…Souta is a hanyou."

Oh boy did I leave a cliffie!

Next chapter will be up soon. I hope. And if you leave a nice review


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